Chain grinding and filing thread

[Chainsaw Jim]

That saw will make any chain look good.

 

[Wilhelm]

That saw will make any chain look good.

She's a head turner no doubt.
Dolmar PS-7900 FTW , even in stock form.
Mine features a mild muffler mod.

But I am increasingly leaning toward my Dolmar PS-7310, there is something about her I can't put my finger on.

 

[SOS Ridgerider]

Dolmar 496 Vanguard chain has lost its Vanguard feature - cuts noticeably better/faster now.

View attachment 135862 View attachment 135863

Why did I do this mod?
I ran this loop continuously for a whole tank of fuel on my Dolmar PS-7310 bucking beech and oak logs.
I came to the conclusion that this loop might be fine on a sub 60cc saw, but it is a complete waste of power on a 70+cc saw.
I even tried dogging the loop through cuts which didn't yield any positive results either.

The peened over rackers on that loop simply limit the chains cutting performance - so off they came!
I also ground the rackers attack point to a more round shape to reduce drag and resistance.

This is the finished result of mod version 1, I have to run it more extensively to see whether it needs additional work.
It is a round filed work chain, 72DL 3/8"!

View attachment 135867 View attachment 135868 View attachment 135869

Nate ((at)fordf150) had these on sale for under 10$ a while back.
I feel that modding them doesn't take too much time, so I'd be getting a bunch of them if I had the opportunity.

Wilhelm, what gauge chain do you use? 0.050? 0.063? I may have a few loops I’d send you free of charge.

 

[Wilhelm]

Wilhelm, what gauge chain do you use? 0.050? 0.063? I may have a few loops I’d send you free of charge.

Wow, thank You!

All but one of my bars are .058".
A new .058" bar will take .050" no problem.
One or two might be able to take .063" due to wear, but that I'd have to try/check.

I recently got a new .050" 20" hard nose set up for .404".

All my sprocket nose bars are 3/8" , most are 20"/72DL , one is 18" not sure what DL count, one is 36"/115DL.

Does any of the above help?

 

[SOS Ridgerider]

Wow, thank You!

All but one of my bars are .058".
A new .058" bar will take .050" no problem.
One or two might be able to take .063" due to wear, but that I'd have to try/check.

I recently got a new .050" 20" hard nose set up for .404".

All my sprocket nose bars are 3/8" , most are 20"/72DL , one is 18" not sure what DL count, one is 36"/115DL.

Does any of the above help?

I know I have at least one or two 72dl 0.050 loops. One is in the packaging still. The other one is new, but I have given it a few swipes with a double bevel file, and rakers are lowered a touch. Just convert it back to round. Couple of swipes should do it.
I have a few 72dl 0.063 loops too.
I don’t have any 0.058 chain at all.

If you have any 64dl bars in 0.050, I have a couple of loops for that as well.

I could send you the two 0.050 loops and a couple of 0.063 loops if you want them.

 

[Wilhelm]

I know I have at least one or two 72dl 0.050 loops. One is in the packaging still. The other one is new, but I have given it a few swipes with a double bevel file, and rakers are lowered a touch. Just convert it back to round. Couple of swipes should do it.
I have a few 72dl 0.063 loops too.
I don’t have any 0.058 chain at all.

If you have any 64dl bars in 0.050, I have a couple of loops for that as well.

I could send you the two 0.050 loops and a couple of 0.063 loops if you want them.

I guess I could get a dedicated .063" bar if my old .058" bars don't happen to work out for .063" chains.

I am not trying to be vulture, I'm just curious as to what You have that You don't wanna run Yourself.
And I am in a small chain frenzy myself, I blame @Philbert for that.
Send me whatever You don't want, surprise me.

I am willing to chip in for shipping.
For whatever reason it seems to be more expensive to ship from the US to Europe than from Europe to the US - You let me know.

 

[Wilhelm]

I finally uploaded the video featuring my worn and mildly modified Dolmar 099 (Oregon 73LGX) chain I kept posting about in this thread.
I think it is cutting quite well considering the log is oak, in matter of fact turkey oak which I feel is much denser than "normal" oak.

This loop has been used a couple more times since I made this video and I decided I will promote it to a dedicated play chain since I am nearing the witness mark and therefore "triangle tooth" state.
It's replacement is the modified Dolmar 496/Oregon Vanguard loop I mentioned earlier - I will make a video of that loop as well.

 

[SOS Ridgerider]

I guess I could get a dedicated .063" bar if my old .058" bars don't happen to work out for .063" chains.

I am not trying to be vulture, I'm just curious as to what You have that You don't wanna run Yourself.
And I am in a small chain frenzy myself, I blame @Philbert for that.
Send me whatever You don't want, surprise me.

I am willing to chip in for shipping.
For whatever reason it seems to be more expensive to ship from the US to Europe than from Europe to the US - You let me know.

We’ll figure all that out. Let me take a look a little later. I’m sure there could be more. Lol

 

[Philbert]

Sometimes it is worth picking up a different gauge bar, if you come across a deal on a bunch of chains.

Could pay for the bar, or you can trade or sell it when done with the chains. Just one more thing to keep track of.

Philbert

 

[Wilhelm]

Sometimes it is worth picking up a different gauge bar, if you come across a deal on a bunch of chains.

Could pay for the bar, or you can trade or sell it when done with the chains. Just one more thing to keep track of.

Philbert

ENABLER ! ! !

In my area the only chains I come across are the ones that I purchase - no package deals on chains, bars and/or chainsaws.

Also, hardly anyone uses large Huskys, absolutely no one owns a large Dolmar/Makita - that been said any D009 bar I purchase will likely stay with me permanently, which is not a issue to me.

Till last year I kept it all simple, 3/8" .050" LowProfile 52DL for my small saws, 3/8" .058" 72DL & 115DL for my large saws.
Then it all went blurry, my PS-7300 came with a 18" B&C but luckily in 3/8" .058", I snagged a 24" 3/8" .058" B&C setup for what I thought was cheap, I also received a pair of 3/8" 72DL loops from the US that were .050", and lastly I got a .404" .050" B&C setup also from the US (raffle).
That makes for a little bit of sorting and keeping track of, but it is fun and keeps me from buying more saws!

We’ll figure all that out. Let me take a look a little later. I’m sure there could be more. Lol

Cool, no rush!

I just remembered, I also have a 24" B&C setup that I have one loop for - never used it so far, it's just too pretty (Carlton Speed Tip, looks cool).
No idea what the DL count is but it is 3/8" .058".

I'll check DL counts on my 18" & 24" B&C setup throughout the day.

 

[Philbert]

Sometimes good deals on eBay for less common chain configurations. I got some on .325 narrow kerf loops a while back; nobody else seemed to want it.

AND, if you can re-size loops . . .

Philbert

 

[Wilhelm]

Sometimes good deals on eBay for less common chain configurations. I got some on .325 narrow kerf loops a while back; nobody else seemed to want it.

AND, if you can re-size loops . . .

Philbert

I assume that those deals are mostly located in the US.
Shipping within the US seems to be fairly affordable, but whenever I get something shipped from the US to me/Europe it ends up being costly.
Basically shipping would kill most any good deal.

What the heck would I do with .325" chains anyway - I like big chips and fast cuts.

 

[Philbert]

My Husqvarna 353 came with .325NK (Type 95) chain; I like it on that saw. Run 16" and 20" bars on it.

One local 'big box' store carried it in one size loop, otherwise it was dealer or catalog. Found a guy on eBay with a tree service who would buy the Carlton / WoodlandPro stuff from Bailey's but did not like to sharpen. Got a bunch under $6/loop, with shipping. He asked if I wanted more.

Also found a few loops from a shop closeout on eBay; that included a loop I mentioned before, where about a dozen links had been spun in backwards (I found out when trying to mount it). Not a big deal with a spinner/breaker.

I need to sort out and post a bunch of chains that I have, and will never use: some might be worth buying a bar that fits!

Philbert

 

[GoBigBlue1984]

View attachment 133199

Is that guy cutting with a cigarette in his mouth? If so, he and I should be friends. That’s badass.

 

[Wolverine]

Chassis done, moving on the cutters. Here’s my preferred method for holding the chain.

 

[Dub11]

Chassis done, moving on the cutters. Here’s my preferred method for holding the chain.
View attachment 137044 View attachment 137045

Have you ran a chain after thinning the chassis only to see how much it picks up?

 

[RI Chevy]

You prefer the single tooth sharpening method vs. The chain vise 3 tooth?

 

[Wolverine]

Wayne, I have not. I’ve only tested my hack jobs against two different Dallas grinds. A pro I am not. This chain is for a 3 cube so the more weight I remove the better (to a point).

I like one tooth exposed Jeff. Everything else is out of the way. Totally personal preference.


Fooker bit back.



So after about 3-4 swipes, I rotate and use the other side of the file then a toof brush to clear the file.
Clean

3 swipes


I’d consider myself a little anal-retentive on keeping the file clean. Can’t afford to be buying boxes of files so I take care of the ones I have.

 

[Redfin]

Remind me J. Next time I see you Ill give you a carting brush for your files.

 

[RI Chevy]

Lol.
Every time I try to use vice grips to file single tooth, the vise grips pop out of vise. Lol
I just learned how to use chain vise. I use the back end and file one set of teeth at a time. Lol
Like Kentucky windage. [emoji16]